Magnolia Summerfest, Car Show just around the corner

Participants enjoy a previous year’s Summerfest. This year’s Summerfest will have more games for older kids, an artists’ reception and a parade contest. Photo courtesy of Scott Ward

Rick Greave’s 1936 Ford Coupe Street Rod (left) is parked at the Magnolia Village Car Show. It’ll be back for another car show this year, along with the new cruise the night before. Photo courtesy of Rick Greaves

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The next two weekends in Magnolia will be fun-filled. From the annual Magnolia Summerfest to the Magnolia Car Show and Cruise, there won’t be any reason not to get out and enjoy the neighborhood.

Summerfest

Magnolia Summerfest event will take place Friday, Aug. 1, and Saturday, Aug. 2. The event usually draws about 6,500 people from the neighborhood, and this year’s new additions may bring an even bigger crowd.

Event chair Scott Ward said planning is wrapping up, and he’s in the process of setting up the events. That will include all of the old favorites, like the art show, Magnolia Seafair parade, talent show, outdoor movie, music and vendors.

New this year is a game section with games for older kids and adults like skee ball and a balloon-dart game. Ticket sales from these events and others like the bouncy houses will benefit the Magnolia Chamber. The festivities typically raise about $5,000, Ward said.

The parade will go on like always, on Saturday at 10:30 a.m. This year, though, there’s a community float contest. Local organizations will build floats, with prizes going to the best ones.

Each year, there’s an art show with prizes for the artists; this year, there will also be an artists’ reception, at 6:30 p.m. on Friday, at the art tent. This will give the community a chance to meet the artists, Ward said.

Ward made an effort to get flyers out in the surrounding neighborhoods to draw people to the event. And other neighbors are helping out, too, like the family who hosted a barbeque to fundraise money for Summerfest, he said.

Events like Summerfest are a great way to bring the community together and show off Magnolia to people from other neighborhoods, Ward said.

Ward is still looking for volunteers to help with set-up, take-down and throughout the festival. To volunteer, contact Scott Ward at scott@scottwardart.com or (206) 696-2671.

The Magnolia Village Car Show is another long-running neighborhood tradition. It will take place on Saturday, Aug. 9. But this year, there will be a new addition: a cruise of the show cars on Friday, Aug. 8, at 6:30 p.m.

The cars will leave the Boxcar Ale House (3407 Gilman Ave. W.), circling Magnolia’s main streets, including traveling through the village, before returning to the restaurant.

Unlike the car show, there is no registration for the cruise. There will be a barbeque for the drivers at the Ale House when the cruise is over. The plan for the drive is to emulate a Southern barbeque, organizer Rick Greaves said: “Low and slow.”

Greaves has shown his own 1936 Ford Coupe Street Rod in the car show for years. Greaves thought it would be nice to rev the engines and give the owners a chance to have some fun, instead of only sitting next to their parked cars.

Greaves had been talking about the idea with the car show’s coordinator and owner of Werner’s Crash Shop (710 Taylor Ave. N.), longtime Magnolia resident Eric Berge, for a few years. Once they decided to go forward, he worked with the Ale House, spread the word through flyers at local car shops and drove the route several times to make sure it would work for all of the old cars.

Greaves hopes that this cruise won’t just be for the car owners, but that residents will pull up a lawn chair along the route and enjoy the parade of cars as they go by. He expects Street Rods like his, muscle cars, European sports cars and other special-interest cars to cruise. He hopes the drivers will go to the car show the next day so people can get an up-close look.

The car show is Saturday, Aug. 9. Rain or shine, cars load will in at 8 a.m., for a 9 a.m. start. Berge estimates 90 percent of cars are from Magnolia.

There is a $20 entrance fee per car, with the proceeds benefiting Northwest Harvest, as it does every year. The car show has collected nearly $8,000 in donations over the years, with an average of 85 cars participating; Berge hopes to hit the $10,000 mark this year, with 100 cars.

New this year, there will be cars from the Northwest Nostalgia Drag Racing group from Tacoma. The types of cars vary widely in this show, which is the point, Berge said; The show has had everything from specialty bikes to new electric cars and old specialty cars.

Berge does ask parents to watch their kids around the cars. Many people want to take pictures with the cars, but ask the owner to help, he advised. Last year, one man’s car was scratched by a child climbing on it.

Berge has had people come up and thank him for putting on the show, because it’s a place to meet other car people with the same kind of cars.

It’s also a chance to let the car out of the garage and breathe, he said: “I’ve heard it called the happiest car show ever. It’s very laid-back and enjoyable.”

For more information on the cruise, contact Rick Greaves at rick.greaves@comcast.net.